


Forward Looking Present Thinking

by Purselover2



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-13 14:51:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9128767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purselover2/pseuds/Purselover2
Summary: Written for the 2016 Olicity Secret Santa





	

Forward Looking, Present Thinking  
Barry arrived at Felicity’s apartment a little before midnight Christmas Eve. “Barry! Hi. What are you doing here?” Felicity exclaimed as she opened the door. Barry came inside and hesitated before answering her. “What’s wrong? What’s happened?” Felicity grabbed his arm. “Barry, talk to me. Whatever it is, it’ll be ok.”   
“Felicity, you trust me right?” “Of course I do, you know that.” Barry grabbed her in his arms. “Good, then come with me.” Barry speed off back to Central City with Felicity.   
Arriving at Star Labs, Felicity grabbed on to Barry for support once they stopped. “Woah, I’ll never get used to that.” Turning around she spied Cisco, Iris and Caitlin. “Alright, what have we got? Meta gone rouge, more flash point drama? What? I’m in.” Felicity says while walking to take chair next to Cisco. “Felicity, its nothing like that.” Caitlin says walking over to her with Iris not far behind. “Then what?” She’s confused and keeps looking around at her friends trying to determine what’s going on.  
“Felicity, with Cisco’s help I want to take you somewhere and show you something. Something that I hope will make you happy and may set you on the path to the future we all know you want.” Barry starts to explain.  
“Where do you want to take me? How are we going to get there? I didn’t pack anything………….” “Felicity, you just have to trust us and you won’t be there long enough to need anything.” Barry interrupts her in the middle of her babble. “Just give me your hand and Cisco will do all the rest.” Barry reaches out his hand, Felicity looks back at Iris and Caitlin. “Go, its going to be fine we promise.” Iris smiles at her. Felicity turns back around and puts her hand in Barry’s. Nodding to Cisco he begins to vibe a breach. Once its big enough Barry grabs Felicity and pulls her through.   
Once they land, Barry again holds on to her until she’s steady on her feet. She looks around, “Where are we?”   
“Star City on Earth 1225.” Barry explains. “I’ve brought you here because there is someone I want you to meet and talk to.”   
“Who?” Felicity keeps looking around noticing all the different technology in use.  
“You’ll see.” Barry grabs her hand and they speed off.  
When they stop Felicity realizes they are at the Queen mansion. “Wow never thought I’d see this place again.” She says as she walks towards the front door.  
Barry stops her. “I’m going to let you go inside alone. I’ll be around if you need me. Just yell. But you’ll be ok. I promise.”  
Felicity nods and walks up the steps. “Go on, go inside.” Barry tells her. She opens the door and steps into the foyer. She is immediately taken back to the night of the siege on the city by Slade Wilson and his mirakuru soldiers. The night Oliver had confessed his love and set up the events that would not only bring about Slade’s downfall, but would start her and Oliver on the path to each other.  
“There have been few times in my life that I have been truly scared, but that night was one of them.” A voice spoke from the staircase. The voice continued as the person it belonged to made their way down the stairs. “I knew he was going to take the woman I loved and I had to let him. I had to have faith. Fear and faith are strange bed fellows.” They stopped in front of her and smiled. “Hello Felicity.”  
“Oliver.” She couldn’t believe her eyes. Oliver was standing in front of her. Not her Oliver, this Oliver was older, and wait. Her Oliver wasn’t really her Oliver anymore, but she….   
“He’s still your Oliver.” Older Oliver replied letting her know that she had spoken most of that out loud. “Its nice to see that no matter what the Earth, Felicity Smoak is still the same.”   
“This is just a lot to take in. I mean, not that I’m not happy to meet you, but I’m sort of confused as to why Barry brought me here.”  
“Why don’t we walk around the grounds and talk? They’re decorated for the holidays.” Oliver extended his hand.  
“Oh but it’s winter, I don’t have a coat.”  
“Didn’t you notice on the way here its not cold outside. We have climate control here it only snows on Christmas day.” Oliver explained.  
“I guess I was too busy processing everything to notice.”   
“Then shall we?” Oliver takes her and tucks it under his arm and leads her out the side door onto the patio. They make their way down the steps, Felicity taking in all the decorations.  
“Its beautiful.”   
“Yes it is. I love coming out here and spending time. Remembering.”  
“What do you remember?” She asked. She wondered where she...no where this Earth’s Felicity was. Was she home in her apartment getting ready for Hanukah or working on a new program with this Earth’s Cisco. She also wondered if she would she get the chance to meet her before she left.  
“The good times. The times that mattered. Not the times I screwed up, or failed, but the times when I was the happiest. The times I owned the world.” Felicity could see him getting a far off look in his eyes and wondered who or what he remembered.   
“It’s nice to remember good things.” Felicity said as she walked up the steps to the gazebo and sat down on one of the benches.   
Oliver joined her and they sat in silence for a few minutes. He could tell she was still processing everything, her mind swirling with a million questions. Just like his Felicity. “On your Earth are you and Oliver together?”  
A moment of sadness crossed her face before she replied, “We were, but it didn’t work out. We still work together, but that’s all.”  
“I’m sorry. I can only assume he did something, something that the two of you couldn’t recover from.”   
“You could say that. Sometimes it still hurts, but I’d rather be in his life as his partner and friend than not in it at all.” She smiled at him. “I always knew Oliver would just get better looking with age. Its so not fair.”  
“Well thank you. Would you like to keep walking?” He stood.  
“Of course, lead the way.” Taking his arm she walked down the stairs and out to the garden. “It’s so lovely here. I was always so intimidated by this place. I never spent a lot of time here, so maybe that was part of it. I can tell this place definitely had a woman’s touch over the years.”  
“Yes” He smiled and stopped.  
“You love her, your wife.” It was a statement not a question.  
“With everything that I am.”   
“I would like to meet her, is she here?” Where did that come from? Even if this wasn’t her Oliver, did she really want to see the woman that had taken his heart? Of course she didn’t know if this Oliver and Felicity had ever been more than partners. They may never have had feelings for each other.  
“Always thinking. Always analyzing.” Oliver teased her.  
“Sorry, habit. I can’t stand a puzzle.”   
“What puzzle are you trying to work out?” He looked at her.  
“I’m trying to decide if I want to ask if you and the Felicity of this Earth ever had a relationship.” She told him.  
“Come with me.” He started back towards the house with Felicity following close behind.  
Once they arrived back at the house he took her into the library. Standing back he waited for her to notice the painting above the fireplace. When she looked up she stopped and covered her mouth. The picture was of her, Oliver and two children. “You married each other.”  
“40 years ago this year.” Oliver closed his eyes and let the memory settle.  
“You had children. Beautiful children.” She walked up and examined the painting closer.  
“Moria and Tommy. “  
“Do they live here?”   
“No, Moria lives in Central City and Tommy lives overseas. They haven’t been back home in a long time.” The sadness in his voice broke her heart.  
“Where is she? She’s here right?” Felicity replayed the day’s events and Oliver’s conversation in her head. She knew the answer before he spoke.  
“She’s here, buried in the family crypt.” His voice was breaking.  
“What happened?” She went to him and held his arm rubbing it like she used to do her Oliver.  
“An old enemy came back looking for revenge. He found it.” He walked away letting her hand fall to her side.  
“I am so so sorry. I’m sorry if my being here is painful. I can find Barry and go.” She starts to walk towards the door.  
“No don’t go. Its not painful. Its actually nice. Getting to talk to you, seeing her the way she looked when I first fell in love. Felicity, I need to tell you our story. Hers and mine. If anything good can come from her death, this may be it. You talking to me. Will you listen and keep an open mind?” Oliver held out his hand.  
Felicity’s unspoken agreement came in the form of taking his hand and letting him lead her to the couch.  
He took a deep breath and began to speak. “When she was taken from me, we weren’t together.”   
“But I thought you said you were married?”   
“We were, but she had left me a year before. We weren’t divorced, but separated. See I had done something really stupid, something very Oliver Queen and she found out. She couldn’t forgive me or come to terms with it so she left. I’ll spare you the details of what I did, honestly I don’t think I could bare to see you look at me the same way she did when she found out what I had done.”   
“You were holding on to hope. Hope that she would come back…….”  
“Yes, I refused to believe that we were over. We were everything. Partners, friends, lovers, soul mates, if there was a word we were it. I gave her the space she wanted, but kept her in my sights at the same time.”  
“You spied on her.”  
“I made sure she was safe. You know me, I protect what’s mine.” There was no apology behind his words just pure statement of fact. “She was home, here, and I thought she was safe. We have top of the line security and I had guards posted. Little did I know how wrong I was. He came into the house and took her.”  
“He killed her.” Felicity closed her eyes not wanting him to see the unshed tears that were forming behind them.  
“Not right away. He taunted me with her, but in the end, yes, he killed her.” Oliver’s eyes found hers. He reached for her hand. “Here is where I think I can help you. While she was being held, she was able to make a video to me and send it over a secure wifi channel in her watch. I got it after she was gone. It was too late for us, but I hope by watching it, it won’t be too late for you.” Getting up he walks over to the desk and retrieves a small video play back device. “Would you watch it?” He asked handing it to her.  
Taking the device, Felicity nodded her head. Oliver headed to the door leaving her alone.  
Felicity took a deep breath and pressed the button. Suddenly she is looking at herself. An older version of herself. She has a look on her face that Felicity has felt on her own before. The look of fear and regret. She keeps glancing over her shoulder to make sure no one is coming and then she begins to speak into the camera. “Oliver, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry that this is happening. I don’t know how this is going to end, so I want you to know I forgive you. I’ve had a lot of time to think over the last few hours. I can’t believe it took facing death for me to realize what I’ve known all along. I love you. I belong with you. We belong together. I should have listened to you. Let you explain. I was just so hurt and full of doubt about us and I made a snap decision that is now going to probably keep us apart forever. Please don’t blame yourself. This is on him, not on you. I wish I could see you one last time. I wish I could die in your arms, telling you how much I love you. It should never take staring death in the face to realize how stubborn I was being. I hear something. I need to go so this will send. Tell the kids I love them and Oliver I love you forever.” The screen went blank and the tears kept flowing from her eyes. What must that have been like for her? Knowing she was only minutes away from death. Using them to get a message off that would hopefully reach Oliver so he would know that she forgave him. Would she do that if she were in the same situation? She had been right, why did it always take dying or the fear of dying to make people realize how they really felt.  
The door opened and Oliver walked in. She handed him the device back. “She would be happy that it made it to you. That you know she forgave you.”  
“I know.” He took it back to the desk and locked it up.  
“You never moved on. Never remarried.”  
“No. When you’ve found the other half of your soul or in my case, my entire soul, you don’t look for love again. No other would have come close. I raised our children, kept her memory alive and honored her by fighting for this city.”  
“Thank you. I hope to see you again someday.” Felicity reached up and kissed him on the cheek.  
“You’re very welcome. I don’t know what he did, but I guarantee you, he’s sorry, he’s in pain and he’s miserable without you. You are the love of his life, his soul, his anchor. I hope this helped you.”

“It did. I guess I need to get back to my Earth. I have a conversation that’s long overdue. Goodbye for now Oliver. Be well.” With one last smile, she made her way out the door and outside to find Barry.

“I’m ready to go.” She tells him when he appears.

“You aren’t mad at us, are you? We just thought after I told them about coming here and meeting Oliver that you needed to hear their story. You guys are magic. End game.”

“I’m not mad, but get me home. I have a brooding vigilante to talk to.” She smiled.

“Yes Ma’am.” Barry replied.

Back in Star City, Oliver wasn’t sure what drew him to this place. The cubical looked the same except this time there was no pretty blond with a red pen suffering death by chewing. Closing his eyes, he let the memory flood over him. Her felt her before he even opened his eyes, he knew she was there. Taking one deep breath he opened his eyes.   
“Oliver Queen. Hi. I’m Felicity Smoak and you don’t know it yet but we’re going to be very very happy together.” She said before he could speak.

“Felicity…….” Her hand came up and covered his mouth.

“Shhhh. Just do what I wanted you to do that day. Kiss me.”

Oliver chuckled and grabbed her by the waist. He had his Christmas miracle. “Felicity Smoak, you have not failed this holiday………….” 

Bending her back he kissed her. It was a kiss of forgiveness and the promise of a new beginning.


End file.
